Not a hell of a lot of partnerships can stand the test of time over 30 years, but for better or worse, many of us stick with our mortgages for three decades.

Ten years ago, that commitment lasted 32 years. Now it's 30 years. Average! That's the same as the lifespan of a lion or a bullfrog.

But the findings from a survey by First Direct mortgages also found that a quarter of mortgage-holders would end their home-loan commitment in just 10 years and this number could climb to a third if people consider some of the more flexible options that are available, like an offset mortgage.


First Direct found that taking out an offset mortgage, which is linked to savings or a current account, could cut the length of a 25-year £100,000 mortgage by almost three years saving the borrower £18,322 in interest payments over the lifetime of the mortgage.

Offset mortgages work by taking the interest earned on a savings account, for example, and using it to reduce the balance of the mortgage. So say you had savings of £20,000 and a mortgage of £100,000. The interest you earn from your savings would be offset against the interest owed on £20,000 of your loan, so you would only pay interest on the difference of £80,000.

What you do need to ensure is that the rates on the savings and current account dovetail with the mortgage interest rate so that you benefit. Understandably, the First Direct survey found that many people just didn't understand how offset mortgages worked and that's why they aren't more popular.

While those figures from the study are interesting, they are simply the result of some number-crunching by the bank. The more interesting questions they asked respondents found that 60% of people defined 'freedom' as no longer having to pay a mortgage.

A freedom considered even greater than that achieved by no longer having to work, being able to travel abroad or even hiring servants to clean your house, cook your meals and iron your clothes.

It says something about us, that through debt, we feel less free. Sad, really.